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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102139">What's In a Family?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZenyZootSuit/pseuds/ZenyZootSuit'>ZenyZootSuit</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kingdom As I See It [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Netflix, 킹덤 | Kingdom (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Childhood, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kingdom Weekly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:00:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZenyZootSuit/pseuds/ZenyZootSuit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They may not have shared any blood, but Chang would always be Lord Ahn's son.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Prince Lee Chang &amp; Lord Ahn Hyeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kingdom As I See It [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740082</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What's In a Family?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the Kingdom Weekly fan works collection. Just a little blurb I wrote, edited, and posted this in the span of an hour. As usual I am incapable of writing anything without angst.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>*******</p><p>Lord Ahn Hyeon sat himself on the cold stone where the boy had insisted on going in between lessons, saying the creek was calming and why should he waste paper practicing his characters when he could write them with water. A persuasive little thing, even at six. </p><p>
  <em>Not just any boy, but the Crown Prince.</em>
</p><p>“Be careful of your robes, Chang,” he scolded the boy, using his given name as he always did when out of earshot of others. “You do not want to muddy them again.”</p><p>The boy looked over his shoulder. “Why not?” he asked, genuinely curious. “The servants never say it is a problem…”</p><p>Lord Ahn smiled fondly and, confirming no one was in sight, scooped the boy into his arms, much to the child’s delight. “But you must put yourself in the shoes of those who must wash the mud out of this fine silk.”</p><p>The boy shifted to rest more comfortably against Lord Ahn’s chest, pondering. “…It must take a long time. And they must have to be very careful, because the fabric is so delicate.”</p><p>The Lord nodded. “And you remember how many duties the servants have? How hard they work?”</p><p>“Yes, Master. And even though I can, I should not make unnecessary work for them because they too are deserving of respect, and I must be respectful of their time.”</p><p>Lord Ahn smiled proudly and hugged the boy. “You have been paying attention to your lessons.”</p><p>The child soaked up the affection, burrowing into Lord Ahn’s hold and closing his eyes. It was likely he had not been shown any love since the last time Lord Ahn was able to sneak him away to the creek. He was the Crown Prince, after all, and was deserving of the difference of Kings. Who would dare hug the child, when the punishment for touching a royal without their permission was death? Such rules did not help the boy. Without his mother and with a distant father (forced to be so though he may be), they only harmed him.</p><p>He sighed, content to hold the child as long as the boy wished.</p><p>He and his late wife had not been blessed with children, no matter how much they had wished for them. As such…</p><p>As such when he had come upon the Crown Prince, a six-year-old child standing alone at his late mother’s funeral, tears running down his cheeks and terror in his eyes as he comprehended that the men standing around him wished for his immediate demise…</p><p>The boy was asleep in his lap, he realized. That was fine, good even. Children this young needed their rest, and the boy often mentioned offhandedly how he stayed up late to watch the guards, listen to them, make sure he knew what each one sounded like so as to recognize an intruder intent on killing him. He sounded like the head of the palace guard, not a six-year-old.</p><p>So Lord Ahn let him sleep for a bit, listening to the boy’s soft breathing and trying not to let his heart break at the way the boy’s tiny fists were clutching his robes. Eventually, though, he had to shake the child awake. “Wake up, Chang,” he said gently. “We must continue on to your next lessons.”</p><p>The boy prince jerked himself awake and leapt out of Lord Ahn’s lap. “I’m sorry, Master,” he said quickly as Lord Ahn, too, stood. “I fell asleep…”</p><p>Lord Ahn smiled sadly, reaching down to take the child’s hand. “It’s all right, my son.”</p><p>
  <em>Son…because that’s how he saw him, wasn’t it? That’s how he thought of him…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Once, to a merchant he had bought wares off of in the middle of nowhere on the way back to Hanyang from a trip home to Sangju, he had indulged himself and spoken proudly of his son to this man who did not know him and would never see him again as he picked out a small trinket for the boy. Long had they spoken of their respective children, and Lord Ahn had let himself believe the lie.</em>
</p><p>The prince loved that trinket and Lord Ahn should be more careful with his tongue. The Cho clan would easily latch onto that, call the boy Lord Ahn’s illegitimate son, and throw him out. He would not make it that easy for them.</p><p>The prince took his hand (Cho Hak-ju and the other hard-lie ministers said the prince was too old to be holding his master’s hand, how would he grow up to be a strong leader if he was always holding his master’s hand? Lord Ahn had dreamed of beheading them as he reminded them that the boy was <em>six</em> and had a good many years to learn independence and resourcefulness, though he showed a great deal of it already).</p><p>“Master?” the little boy asked quietly.</p><p>“Yes, your Highness?” They were too close to the palace now.</p><p>The boy deflated upon hearing his title, mumbling something quietly.</p><p>Lord Ahn bid him repeat it.</p><p>“I wish you were my father…” the boy said a little louder.</p><p>The Lord immediately dropped to his knees and took the boy by the shoulders. “You mustn’t say things like that, child. Remember you must protect yourself?”</p><p>Tears of fear welled in the child’s eyes, though he nodded.</p><p>“To protect yourself, you must never speak a word of dissent against your father or they will call it treason and depose you. Do you understand?”</p><p>Again the boy nodded.</p><p>Lord Ahn did as well. “Good. I am not your father, Chang, and you are not my son.”</p><p>“But you said—“</p><p>“You are <em>not</em> my son. You are the son of the King and his only heir. Never forget that.”</p><p>The boy blinked and a single tear rolled down his cheek.</p><p>Lord Ahn couldn’t stand it. He scooped the boy up and carried him the rest of the way to his lessons (the child loved it when he did that. He especially loved it when Lord Ahn would put him on his shoulders, would joyfully cheer “I’m tall, I’m tall!” A smile or a laugh from the boy was a rare occurrence. That wasn’t right for a child so young.)</p><p><em>But I won’t ever leave you,</em> he silently swore. <em>I am to your father, but I can still raise you.</em></p><p>
  <em>You cannot share my name or my blood, but I will still treat you as my child. In my heart, you will always be my son.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My son.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think! :3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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